Spirits
by Anonymous-cat
Summary: This fic is based on the theme song to the movie, The Last Unicorn. One Unicorn watches as the world crubles around her.


The unicorn stood at the top of a hill. She stood and looked down into the valley, the last living place on the planet earth. The few living things in this world all lived there, but they would not be alive for much longer. The world was crumbling, as all worlds eventually did. The unicorn sighed and remembered.

She had lived in this world for a very long time now. Longer than all of the other unicorns, who had left in order to escape disaster. She recalled the happy days, back when the intelligent beings of this world, humans, had believed in them, and had even ridden them at special moments. The humans had been kind to the unicorns at first, until they began to envy the horns the unicorns held. Then they were killed, slaughtered, and so they had gone into hiding. Some humans still believed, and the unicorns revealed themselves to those few. The humans had built cities, larger and larger ones. But the beautiful woods were still there. So the unicorns had stayed.

Then the elders had come with the news, the world had entered its last stage of life, the last hundred years. The elders had left the planet to search for a new one to live on, for even unicorns cannot live where there is nothing. The rest of the unicorns had stayed. Then, in a few years, the elders had come back and reported that they had found a new planet, Alantha. They had gone very soon, to settle on the new world. But most of the unicorns had still stayed. There was still time.

Then, the last years of safety had passed. Many unicorns had cast their spirits to the wind, and had gone to the new planet. They would be born there as foals and fillies once more, for unicorns are immortal. They could be killed, though, and if a unicorn was killed only then can a new spirit be born. Sheira, the last unicorn, had been born on this planet after her namesake spirit had died on another. She was still very young, for a unicorn. And this was the only planet she thought she could love.

Fifty years ago, the last of the unicorns had left. The second to last one, whose name had been Amalthea on this planet, had wished Sheira good luck and warned her to come soon. Then the war had begun. Humans had created destructive devices that could kill. The devices had polluted the air and killed many of the beings on the planet. Finally, only seven years ago, the last bomb had been launched. It had meant total destruction, or almost. The unicorn had stayed in the valley, and the bomb had not touched it. The few surviving spirits on the planet had staggered here, and Sheira knew they were the last living ones on the planet. There was a lion, an eagle, two wolves, some birds, and a few mice. And one more: a girl.

A human girl, the last human alive, had survived. When she was about six years old, she had crawled into the valley. She had built a shelter and had lived here for the past seven years. She had never seen the unicorn. Now she was 13 years old. She would not live to be 14.

Sheira knew that when dawn came, the planet would be on its last day. And if Sheira didn't wish to die along with it, she would have to leave and go to the new world before dawn. And soon after she left, the earth beings would die. There would be no future for this world.

Sheira sought to remember the old days once more. She began to gallop, and as she remembered, she lived them once again. Her laughter sailed on the wind, and then died. She stopped, skidded to a halt before the girl. The girl stared up at her, awestruck. She said no words, but Sheira knew what she was thinking. _You are so beautiful. Stay, please stay! _And the unicorn knew what the girl would say if she had understood the unicorns secrets.

Why? Why must you leave, knowing I will die? Why does your race live on, for eternity, while my race and I dwindle so quickly? Why?

The girl reached out, with eager hands. She stroked the unicorn's mane. The touch startled Sheira. She whirled around, leaving a silver thread in the girl's hands. And she began to run.

Dawn was coming. The unicorn could feel it in her bones. She ran past the lion, staring into a fountain that would not last another 24 hours. She ran, on and on, up into the mountains. She startled the eagle, and he flew. The mountain crumbled behind her. Sheira ran up to the highest point on the mountains. The clouds parted, and dawn came. With a yearning call, _goodbye_, the last unicorn threw her spirit to the wind.


End file.
